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Grammar Girl: Who versus Whom? Well or Good? When I'm stumped by a grammar questions, this site gives me a quick answer. It's a handy-dandy reference, and I think there is even an app for it. (Mrs. S)
Exploring Moments:
If you need some help revising a piece or deciding on a focus, consider this writing activity. List significant moments in your life. These could be times with family, on vacation, with friends, at school, playing a sport, enduring a crisis or loss. Pick two or three to explore and write for about five minutes on each. Start by Exploding the Moment: write in slow-mo and take your reader into the scene to experience all of the sensory details. Then write a Thought-Shot: in just a few sentences, write what you think about it, why it was important, what it meant to you, what you learned about yourself, others, life. After you have done this with a few events, you should have an idea which one will give you the most material for writing your reflective essay. You may want to use elements of your explode the moment and thought shot in your writing.
Revision Tools:
Read back through your draft (several times). As you reread, take another look and apply some of these tools. Sometimes it will work and create an effect you want. Other times it won't. You won't know unless you try it.
AAAWWUBBIS Punctuation Rule AAAWWUBBIS is an acronym to help you remember common subordinating conjunctions: After, Athough (Though & Even though), As, When (Whenever), While, Until, Because, If, Since. Rules: If you start a sentence (or independent clause) with an AAAWWUBBIS, you will have a comma at the end of the clause. Ex: Because the heat is unbearable, we have been staying indoors this summer. If your clause beginning with an AAAWWUBBIS is embedded in the sentence, you don't need a comma. Ex: We have been staying indoors this summer because the heat is unbearable. Remember: Use of an AAAWWUBBIS makes a clause dependant. Be sure to complete your thought so you don't end up with a fragment.
In Media Res It's Latin for "into the middle of things" and a great narrative technique. It means you start your writing (essay or story) by jumping in the middle of a critical scene or action. When you revise your drafts, look to see if you should move a paragraph to the beginning to be your lead.
Parallel Structure Take a look at this sentence: Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. (Abraham Lincoln) The phrases in bold are an example of parallel structure. They match in their grammatical structure because they are all prepositional phrases. The effect is a nice rhythm. What if Lincoln had said Government of the people, that was created by and for themselves, shall not perish from the earth? Well, it just doesn't have the same flow with that different structure (prepositional phrase, dependent clause) and without the repetition.
It's also important to maintain parallel structure for clarity and not just a nice effect. For example: Jerry left yesterday and says goodbye. Oops! If he left yesterday, he said goodbye. Keep it in the same tense. Another example: Mary likes hiking, reading, and to cook. (Change "to cook" to "cooking" to make it match).
Point of View Students often wonder when it is acceptable to use first person point of view (I, me, my) in their writing. Whenever possible, you should avoid these personal pronouns when stating an opinion because they not only make your writing wordy but also weaken your argument. Eliminate them, and you'll find your writing is much more forceful and direct. Not: I think the best way to handle this situation is through a student vote. But: The best way to handle this situation is through a student vote. One exception to this rule, however, is when you are recounting an event that happened to you personally. For instance, when using a personal anecdote to support a point in an essay (such as an SAT essay), you will probably need to use a personal pronoun. Ex: "My favorite book is still my copy of Harry Potter I was given by my grandmother on my sixth birthday." Second person (you, your) can also be tricky. The use of second person makes your writing very personal for your reader, so use it carefully. Don't lecture your reader! Usually, second person merely adds unnecessary words. Not: You can't help liking this book. But: This book is irresistable. (Notice how the sentence becomes more direct and vigorous, not to mention shorter.)
Verb Tense Make sure your writing stays in a consistent tense. Error: The key fell out of my pocket. I don't know what to do. (begins in past tense, ends in present tense) Correct: The key fell out of my pocket. I didn't know what to do. (or falls and don't)
A Top 10 Checklist for Grammar and Mechanics 1. Check your capitalization (proper nouns, I, first word of a sentence, etc.) 2. If you have an introductory clause, you are going to need a comma. 3. Watch for these mix-ups: its/it's, too/to, and their/there. 4. Check for fragments and run-ons. 5. Do you have a question mark at the end of questions? 6. Are your modifiers dangling? 7. Don't forget the apostrophe in contractions and possessive nouns. 8. Check for pronoun clarity. If you have several pronouns in a paragraph, your reader can lose track. 9. Common pronoun error: Me and him went to the store. Correction: He and I went to the store. Tip: What you would say for one you would say for two. (Me went to the store? NO. Him went to the store? NO!) 10. Are you missing any words or letters. We sometimes make unintentional errors when we type. Read back (aloud) carefully line by line for your final draft.
Apply these Greek structures to your writing:
Chiasmus (ki AZ mus) is sentence inversion. For example: The runaway colt galloped across the field into the woods. INVERTED: Across the field into the woods galloped the runaway colt. If you think of it like a scene in a movie, the inversion causes you to focus the camera on the last image in the sentence, giving it more importance.
Zeugma (ZOOG muh) blend contrasting images in a parallel structure to achieve this effect (not always, but often at the end of a sentence). Take a look at an example from Jean Shepard's novel Christmas Story:
I imagined innumerable situations calling for the instant and irrevocable need for a BB gun, great fantasies where I fended off creeping marauders burring through the snow toward the kitchen, where only I and I alone stood between our tiny huddle family and insensate Evil. (2003)
Antithesis (an TITH e sis)
Another example of using contrasting ideas, the antithesis structure uses identical sentence structure, almost like a mirror: "If you loved the book, you'll hate the movie."
Epanalepsis (e pa na LEP sis)
End the sentence with the same word or phrase that starts it. It creates an "hourglass" feel. "Next time there won't be a next time." (from The Sopranos)
Hyperbole (hi PER bowl ee)
Can add a bit of humor by exaggerating an image to emphasize a point. Example: "If you can block a coke machine, you can block Kelcher." (John Madden)
Power in Numbers:
Your teachers tell you to add detail and examples to support your writing. Consider the power of numbers when doing so. (from Writing Tools, Roy Peter Clark)
Use one element for power. Adding one element or example creates power. Emphasize your point by keeping the sentence as short as possible. Trust me.
Use two elements for comparison, contrast. Use this especially if you want your reader to weigh two ideas against each other.
Use three for completeness, wholeness, roundedness.
Use four or more elements to list, inventory, compile, expand.
Look at this example from Jonathan Lethem's novel Motherless Brooklyn:
Context is everything.Dress me up and see. I'm a carnival barker, an auctioneer, a downtown performance artist, a speaker in tongues, a senator drunk on filibuster. I've got Tourette's.
Grammar Girl: Who versus Whom? Well or Good? When I'm stumped by a grammar questions, this site gives me a quick answer. It's a handy-dandy reference, and I think there is even an app for it. (Mrs. S)
Exploring Moments:
If you need some help revising a piece or deciding on a focus, consider this writing activity. List significant moments in your life. These could be times with family, on vacation, with friends, at school, playing a sport, enduring a crisis or loss. Pick two or three to explore and write for about five minutes on each. Start by Exploding the Moment: write in slow-mo and take your reader into the scene to experience all of the sensory details. Then write a Thought-Shot: in just a few sentences, write what you think about it, why it was important, what it meant to you, what you learned about yourself, others, life. After you have done this with a few events, you should have an idea which one will give you the most material for writing your reflective essay. You may want to use elements of your explode the moment and thought shot in your writing.
Revision Tools:
Read back through your draft (several times). As you reread, take another look and apply some of these tools. Sometimes it will work and create an effect you want. Other times it won't. You won't know unless you try it.
AAAWWUBBIS Punctuation Rule
AAAWWUBBIS is an acronym to help you remember common subordinating conjunctions: After, Athough (Though & Even though), As, When (Whenever), While, Until, Because, If, Since.
Rules: If you start a sentence (or independent clause) with an AAAWWUBBIS, you will have a comma at the end of the clause. Ex: Because the heat is unbearable, we have been staying indoors this summer.
If your clause beginning with an AAAWWUBBIS is embedded in the sentence, you don't need a comma. Ex: We have been staying indoors this summer because the heat is unbearable.
Remember: Use of an AAAWWUBBIS makes a clause dependant. Be sure to complete your thought so you don't end up with a fragment.
In Media Res
It's Latin for "into the middle of things" and a great narrative technique. It means you start your writing (essay or story) by jumping in the middle of a critical scene or action. When you revise your drafts, look to see if you should move a paragraph to the beginning to be your lead.
Parallel Structure
Take a look at this sentence: Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. (Abraham Lincoln)
The phrases in bold are an example of parallel structure. They match in their grammatical structure because they are all prepositional phrases. The effect is a nice rhythm. What if Lincoln had said Government of the people, that was created by and for themselves, shall not perish from the earth? Well, it just doesn't have the same flow with that different structure (prepositional phrase, dependent clause) and without the repetition.
It's also important to maintain parallel structure for clarity and not just a nice effect. For example: Jerry left yesterday and says goodbye. Oops! If he left yesterday, he said goodbye. Keep it in the same tense. Another example: Mary likes hiking, reading, and to cook. (Change "to cook" to "cooking" to make it match).
Point of View
Students often wonder when it is acceptable to use first person point of view (I, me, my) in their writing. Whenever possible, you should avoid these personal pronouns when stating an opinion because they not only make your writing wordy but also weaken your argument. Eliminate them, and you'll find your writing is much more forceful and direct.
Not: I think the best way to handle this situation is through a student vote.
But: The best way to handle this situation is through a student vote.
One exception to this rule, however, is when you are recounting an event that happened to you personally. For instance, when using a personal anecdote to support a point in an essay (such as an SAT essay), you will probably need to use a personal pronoun. Ex: "My favorite book is still my copy of Harry Potter I was given by my grandmother on my sixth birthday."
Second person (you, your) can also be tricky. The use of second person makes your writing very personal for your reader, so use it carefully. Don't lecture your reader! Usually, second person merely adds unnecessary words.
Not: You can't help liking this book.
But: This book is irresistable. (Notice how the sentence becomes more direct and vigorous, not to mention shorter.)
Verb Tense
Make sure your writing stays in a consistent tense.
Error: The key fell out of my pocket. I don't know what to do. (begins in past tense, ends in present tense)
Correct: The key fell out of my pocket. I didn't know what to do. (or falls and don't)
A Top 10 Checklist for Grammar and Mechanics
1. Check your capitalization (proper nouns, I, first word of a sentence, etc.)
2. If you have an introductory clause, you are going to need a comma.
3. Watch for these mix-ups: its/it's, too/to, and their/there.
4. Check for fragments and run-ons.
5. Do you have a question mark at the end of questions?
6. Are your modifiers dangling?
7. Don't forget the apostrophe in contractions and possessive nouns.
8. Check for pronoun clarity. If you have several pronouns in a paragraph, your reader can lose track.
9. Common pronoun error: Me and him went to the store. Correction: He and I went to the store. Tip: What you would say for one you would say for two. (Me went to the store? NO. Him went to the store? NO!)
10. Are you missing any words or letters. We sometimes make unintentional errors when we type. Read back (aloud) carefully line by line for your final draft.
Apply these Greek structures to your writing:
Chiasmus (ki AZ mus) is sentence inversion. For example: The runaway colt galloped across the field into the woods. INVERTED: Across the field into the woods galloped the runaway colt. If you think of it like a scene in a movie, the inversion causes you to focus the camera on the last image in the sentence, giving it more importance.
Zeugma (ZOOG muh) blend contrasting images in a parallel structure to achieve this effect (not always, but often at the end of a sentence). Take a look at an example from Jean Shepard's novel Christmas Story:
I imagined innumerable situations calling for the instant and irrevocable need for a BB gun, great fantasies where I fended off creeping marauders burring through the snow toward the kitchen, where only I and I alone stood between our tiny huddle family and insensate Evil. (2003)
Antithesis (an TITH e sis)
Another example of using contrasting ideas, the antithesis structure uses identical sentence structure, almost like a mirror: "If you loved the book, you'll hate the movie."
Epanalepsis (e pa na LEP sis)
End the sentence with the same word or phrase that starts it. It creates an "hourglass" feel. "Next time there won't be a next time." (from The Sopranos)
Hyperbole (hi PER bowl ee)
Can add a bit of humor by exaggerating an image to emphasize a point. Example: "If you can block a coke machine, you can block Kelcher." (John Madden)
Power in Numbers:
Your teachers tell you to add detail and examples to support your writing. Consider the power of numbers when doing so. (from Writing Tools, Roy Peter Clark)Look at this example from Jonathan Lethem's novel Motherless Brooklyn:
Context is everything. Dress me up and see. I'm a carnival barker, an auctioneer, a downtown performance artist, a speaker in tongues, a senator drunk on filibuster. I've got Tourette's.
from Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark.